Best Laid Plans
Brie looked over at Sir as they sat in the backseat of Rytsar’s vehicle, unable to hide her concern for the baby as they rode in silence to the hospital.
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “There is no reason to be worried, babygirl.”
Rytsar bellowed from the front, “But I’m not ready!”
Sir chuckled under his breath. “This isn’t about you, old friend.”
Rytsar turned his head, looking back at Brie in desperation. “I wanted to be healed for her.”
Brie rubbed her belly lovingly and shrugged. “I think this little girl has a mind of her own, Rytsar. She must take after her dyadya.”
He gave Brie a self-satisfied smirk and sat back in his seat. “You’re right. She takes after me.”
Brie let out a nervous sigh, and Sir immediately wrapped his strong arms around her. “While we may not be mentally prepared for an early entrance, everything is ready for her.”
Brie squeezed Sir’s hand. She smiled, thinking back on the moment the two of them found out they were having a girl. He’d held her hand then, too.
Cold gel covered her stomach as the technician glided the transducer probe over her belly. She’d had an ultrasound while Rytsar was watching over her but, at the time, it had been too early in her pregnancy to determine the sex.
Although Brie was certain she was carrying a girl, she’d come today hoping to find out for sure. She trusted that Rytsar, who’d insisted from the very beginning that she was having a girl, would be able to make the mental adjustment if it turned out she was actually carrying a baby boy.
“Now that you are far enough along, Mrs. Davis, we should be able to tell if it’s a boy or girl,” the technician informed her.
“Wonderful! I can’t wait to find out.”
Sir was sitting in a wheelchair beside her, holding her hand tightly as they watched the screen.
While she trembled with excitement, Brie noticed that Sir appeared exceedingly calm, considering the importance of this ultrasound. When he caught her staring at him, he gave her a wink.
Her heart just about melted. How was it he still held that kind of power over her?
The technician first made the required measurements, pointing out unidentifiable body parts while they both watched the monitor intently. Once finished, he smiled at Brie. “Now we get to see if your baby will cooperate with me today.”
It took a few moments for him to isolate the area before he was able to point out an unrecognizable blob on the screen. “Although we won’t know for certain until the birth, it looks as if you’re having a girl.”
Brie stared hard at the image, unable to make out what he was showing her, but trusted the technician’s expertise. She glanced at Sir with awe in her voice. “A little girl…”
He nodded, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Is it what you were expecting?” the technician asked them.
“Yes,” Sir stated confidently.
Afterward, Brie questioned Sir about it as they headed back to his hospital room. “I have to admit that you surprised me back there, Sir.”
He chuckled. “How so?”
“You didn’t seem a bit surprised that we are having a girl, even though there was a fifty-fifty chance it might be a boy.”
Sir nodded thoughtfully, but did not explain himself until he was settled back in the room and they were alone. Brie became worried when he took her hand, his expression serious. “Babygirl, I never told you about something that happened on the plane as it was going down.”
They had promised each other not to keep secrets, and she opened her mouth to protest but he spoke first, explaining, “I kept silent because I wanted to preserve this special moment for you.”
Brie looked into his eyes, asking with trepidation, “What happened on the plane?”
His smile faltered, and Sir’s eyes suddenly had a haunted look—as if he were reliving those last seconds before impact. He cleared his throat. “Just before the plane crashed I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were carrying a girl.”
“How?” she asked, looking at him in wonder.
Sir placed his hand on her stomach, shaking his head. “I have no idea.”
Tears pricked Brie’s eyes. She imagined the terror he must have felt with everyone screaming around him just before the plane smashed into the ground.
“And now, I have been given the miracle of a second chance.” Sir smiled, gazing down at her round belly. “I’m going to get to meet our little girl.”
Brie looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and heartache. She’d been so close to losing him…
“I love you, Sir.”
He cradled her cheek. “I love you, too.”
Tears filled her eyes when she confessed, “Today would be even more perfect if we could tell Rytsar the news. It’s killing me inside.”
She saw the same level of pain reflected in Sir’s eyes. “It is the only thing that tarnishes this moment for me. The overwhelming helplessness of not knowing if he’s alive…it eats at me like a cancer.”
Brie nodded, her bottom lip trembling.
“But our duty as parents is to separate those feelings from the miracle that is our child.” Sir laid his hand on her stomach again. “I am a lucky man…”
Brie gazed into his eyes as he grasped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She couldn’t help grinning the moment their lips touched, and the perfect name suddenly flashed in her mind.
“Do my kisses amuse you?” he asked teasingly.
“I know what her name is, Sir,” Brie announced, and she whispered it in his ear.
Sir leaned back against the pillow, nodding his approval. “I agree. That is her name.”
Brie felt chills of providence coursing through her when he kissed her again. The name not only reflected the two of them, but it also honored Rytsar’s devotion to their baby.
When Sir pulled away, she tried unsuccessfully to keep the tears from falling. Sir reached up and wiped them away. “He is coming back, babygirl. And when he does, Durov will appreciate the name we have chosen for her.”
Brie forced a smile, taking strength from his assurance. She imagined the moment when Rytsar finally met their child face-to-face. It would be so beautiful…
She chose to believe it would happen, and to honor that belief, she asked Sir, “I think you should be the one to make the formal introduction between them when she is born.”
“Certainly, if that is what you wish.”
Brie felt the baby kick, and glanced down at her stomach, mesmerized by the wonder of the tiny human growing inside her. Truly, motherhood was a miracle—this ability to create a life born of love.